Disease ‘levy’ for farmers

Farmers should pay a levy to cover the cost of outbreaks of diseases such as avian flu and foot-and-mouth, so that taxpayers did not have to pay the cost, a report by MPs has suggested.

The Public Accounts Committee report said that it was “entirely unacceptable” for taxpayers to pay the bill for an outbreak of disease, such as the current potential threat of bird flu.

During the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis, around 6 million animals were slaughtered. The outbreak cost UK taxpayers £3 billion.

The cross-party Committee criticised the government’s handling of the crisis, saying that it had resulted in a “prodigious waste of taxpayers’ money”.

Committee Chairman Edward Leigh warned that the current potential threat of bird flu could result in the widespread slaughter of livestock. He said that it was “vital” for the government to put plans in place to not only stop the spread of disease, but also control the cost of any outbreak.

However, the report also said that the government had learnt many lessons since the foot-and-mouth crisis, saying that improved animal health policies; bans on some animal feeds and restrictions on livestock movements had all helped to lessen the risk of an outbreak.

However, the Liberal Democrats said that concerns remained about the “robustness” of the UK’s import inspections and regulations and called for regular inspections of biosecurity measures and testing of contingency planning.

Colin Breed, Liberal Democrats rural affairs spokesperson said that there was “absolutely no room for complacency” and stressed that the area of cost needed “urgent government attention”. He said: “It is clear that the government has failed to come to a satisfactory agreement with the insurance industry so that future costs can be properly shared by farmers through insurance cover and as yet no debate has been forthcoming in respect of a levy system, which is unlikely to be acceptable to the agriculture industry.

“This remain a vital area and needs urgent government attention, although it is clear that the financial costs should not be the sole responsibility of the farming industry until the government can ensure that our borders are secure.”

(KMcA/SP)